Occasionally we’ll be sitting in a work room, or watching an event, or eating in the media dining hall, when dozens of smart phones will buzz, like a swarm of bees.

An ominous gray box flashes on your screen that says, “EXTREME ALERT” in English, followed by four lines of Korean characters.

Severe weather advisory? Update on the Norovirus that has swept through the Olympic workers? Incoming missile from North Korea?

No mushroom clouds in sight, I showed my phone to a bilingual staffer and asked what it meant. We were in Bongpyeong-myeun, a tiny town deep in the snowbound Taebaek Mountains hosting the Olympic snowboard venue, with air temperatures in the teens and wind chills approaching zero. The EXTREME ALERT, she explained, was for a heightened fire danger.

A symphony of phones buzzed Wednesday afternoon on a media bus bumping down the mountain following Shaun White’s dramatic gold medal in snowboard’s halfpipe, winning on the competition’s final run with back-to-back four-revolution spins that he had, incredibly, never attempted before that day.

A raging fire in the snow.

And that is the kind of incongruity suddenly surrounding White, the biggest star of these Games and now, overnight, maybe its biggest villain, too. A man laboriously scaling a mountain peak, then instantly tumbling down the other side, powerless to stop the accelerating slide.

A guy who went from leaping into his parents’ arms and bawling with five-ring joy to, a mere five hours later, being tossed onto the embers of public figures accused of sexual harassment.

Many will hear the words “sexual harassment” and that will be enough, and maybe it is. The allegations include text messages between White and a female drummer in his band, appropriately enough named “Bad Things,” that White has not denied. They are inappropriate, graphic, disgusting, creepy, even disturbing.

The first thing to understand is that while this is a news story now, it isn’t a new story. It is 18 months old.

And it didn’t stem from a sexual harassment lawsuit or criminal investigation. It started with a civil lawsuit for breach of contract and unpaid wages filed by Lena Zawaideh in May 2016, then refiled three months later but this time with the explosive allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power.

It received some traction in media – the Union-Tribune and Associated Press wrote stories – but nothing approaching what it has after White landed a 97.75-point run at Phoenix Snow Park. Two weeks after it was filed, attorneys invited San Diego media to a news conference with Zawaideh and a doctor “to discuss the impact White’s behavior had on Ms. Zawaideh’s mental health.”

It never happened, cancelled because Zawaideh was “ill.” Shortly afterward, the two sides settled without revealing terms.

And the media has largely ignored the story since (although the Union-Tribune did mention it in a lengthy Sunday profile on White’s journey to a fourth Winter Olympics).

Until Wednesday.

After the victory ceremony, White was ushered into an interview area at the base of the halfpipe, standing in ankle-deep snow and patiently answering questions for nearly two hours from dozens of Olympic TV rights holders across the globe. Then he went to a news conference with journalists. Then he was shuttled halfway down the mountain to yet another news conference at the Main Press Center in Alpensia.

This is a chance for non-rights holders like ABC, CBS and Fox – whose credentials don’t get them the access that NBC’s billions of dollars bought and whose prime time ratings take a hit during the Games – to ask questions. The second one to White was from ABC, asking about the sexual harassment allegations and whether they might tarnish his legacy.

I’ve covered White at all four of his Olympics, watching him grow from a precocious but talented teen into a flawed but talented adult, and I’ve never seen him more polished, more candid, more introspective, more self-effacing than he was here. He has answered questions thoughtfully, insightfully, maturely, expansively.

He said, “I feel more like I know who I am.” At one point, trying to explain how he recaptured his lost love for the sport, he stopped and said: “It’s a bit deep, guys.”

He’s been working on an audio biography scheduled to be released next fall, and the press materials mention overcoming battles with depression and substance abuse.

Wednesday, when the question about the lawsuit was being asked and the reporter butchered Zawaideh’s first name, White politely corrected him. “Lena,” he said respectfully. But then for the first time all week, on or off the mountain, the three-time gold medalist made a mistake. Slipped on the ice.

“Honestly,” White said, “I’m here to talk about the Olympics, not, you know, gossip and stuff.”

Maybe it was an innocent blunder wrought by mental fatigue from four straight hours of cameras and questions. Or maybe the true id of an entitled, manipulative athlete was escaping from a meticulously manicured facade.

Either way, there was fire in the snow.

“Before Mr. White made his comment, Ms. Zawaideh believed that this matter was in the past, and she was happy to put the situation behind her,” her attorney, Lawrance Bohm, said in a statement emailed to media. “Unfortunately, by his recent comments and conduct, Mr. White has minimized the problem of sexual harassment in this country … No woman wants to be called a ‘gossip’ or a liar by the harasser. Minimizing sexual harassment maximizes the harm to Ms. Zawaideh.”

White quickly grabbed a mop and went on NBC’s “Today,” a show itself ravaged by the alleged sexual harassment transgressions of former host Matt Lauer. “I’m truly sorry that I chose the word gossip,” White said. “It was a poor choice of words to describe such a sensitive subject in the world today.”

Then came a statement to the New York Times:

“I regret my behavior of many years ago and am sorry that I made anyone – particularly someone I considered a friend – uncomfortable. I have grown and changed as a person, as we all grow and change, and am proud of who I am today.”

Will it be enough? Should it be?

The circumstances of scandal – the motivation of a lawsuit over money, the timing by rival television networks, the earnestness of his contrition – don’t matter to most people, nor should they. The string of text messages is enough, especially in the current climate, to paint an ugly picture of crossing lines, of abusing power, of aberrant behavior.

After his final run at Phoenix Snow Park, White waited at the bottom of the halfpipe for his scores. He said it felt like “an eternity,” and he admitted worrying that he might be penalized for his past.

“I can’t help but think that sometimes when I go out and ride,” White said, “I’m expected to be the best and the greatest in the sport and I’m expected to do these flawless runs – perfect 100 runs all the time. I can’t help but wonder if they’re going to nitpick my run because of that. Sometimes I feel like I can be scored against myself.”

His marks flashed on the video screen. The snowboard judges gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Now White anxiously awaits a different set of scores, from the judges of public opinion. They might not be so generous.

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